Help - Condensation - Halfords

[synthedup]

Hi Guys,

Looking for some advice please, one of my bulbs went yesterday so I web down to Halfords, got a new bulb for £24.99 and they offered to fit for £6.99. I thought with the cold windy weather I'd let them do it.

Anyway, all seemed well until i woke up this morning and the headlight is full of condensation!!! what can i do? what would people advise?

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Beetlegav]

Take the back off, stick a hair dryer in there and then when refitting the backplate, if the seal doesn't sit right it will let water in. I fixed this by coating the seal in Vaseline and it hasn't done it since.

 

[z4pilot]

First thing is to check the headlight cover is still there inside your wheel arch... They're held in at one side by a tab and the other side by one or two (can't remember!) half turn fastenings. If it's still there, it's most likely not been replaced correctly, allowing moisture into the headlight itself. You can gain access by turning your wheels full lock outwards (on the affected side) and reaching in to the wheel arch. Bit fiddly but easy.

 

[synthedup]

Thanks for your advice guys, much appreciated.

no one think i should be complaining to Halfords though?

 

[pdk42]

I wouldn't let a Halfords monkey go within 10 yards of my car with any intent to "maintain" it. There's a site somewhere where people list the takes of woe caused by Halfords and there's quite a bit to read - anything from damaged dashes when fitting radios to bodged electrical work. Some employees post there too complaining of almost complete lack of training.

So Yes - you should complain!

 

[ronk]

I wouldn't let them oil a pram!

There might be some talented fellas with them but not sure where.

 

[Geezah]

Did the condensation fix on my headlights yesterday.

Wait for a crisp cold day, if poss or in your garage.

Take the back off your headlight unit

Play a hair dryer over the front of the lens until moisture evaporates. Might take sometime.

Wait for headlight unit to cool right down, you dont want to trap warm air in the headlight unit as it holds more moisture than cold air.

I took out the rubber seal and refitted it back to front, dont push it all the way down, you want it proud to make contact. I used silicone grease around the rubber.

Refit to headlamp unit.

Checked this morning and headlamps were clear!

Now..... Can anyone help me with a facelift foglight condensation fix please?

 

[synthedup]

Did the condensation fix on my headlights yesterday.

Wait for a crisp cold day, if poss or in your garage.

Take the back off your headlight unit

Play a hair dryer over the front of the lens until moisture evaporates. Might take sometime.

Wait for headlight unit to cool right down, you dont want to trap warm air in the headlight unit as it holds more moisture than cold air.

I took out the rubber seal and refitted it back to front, dont push it all the way down, you want it proud to make contact. I used silicone grease around the rubber.

Refit to headlamp unit.

Checked this morning and headlamps were clear!

Now..... Can anyone help me with a facelift foglight condensation fix please?

Thankyou, I will do this tonight.

Regarding the facelift foglights, this is an issue I fixed a few months back.

I first took the fog lights off the car and separated them, this was a very testing job as they are a sealed unit, luckerly (I think) due to mine being so corroded i was able to separate then as some of the seal had already been broken, I used a screwdriver and Stanley knife to remove the remainder.

Once they were apart i had a friend shot blast all the corrosion off back to bear metal, i painted the outside black and the inside chrome to get back the reflectiveness. once dry i used a silicone adhesive to put them back together and there as good as new now

 

[Geezah]

Awesomeness in Abundance! Thanks. Thats next weekend sorted!

 

[PGardner93]

I'm in the exact same boat, only worse!

I popped into halfords to buy new headlight bulbs and I explained that if they had someone who is particularly experienced with z4 headlights then i'll pay to have them fitted, if not i'll do it myself. The lady jumped at the opportunity to prove herself. She explained she worked in a garage for 15 years, fitted a 2JZ engine to her civic when she was 17 and she was basically a mechanical goddess... I took it with a pinch of salt.

She fixed the bulb seemingly easy, which was pleasing. Only I've returned to my car the day after to find the headlight extremely condensed and, to make matters worse, she also didn't reattach the pop-open liner inside the wheel well. Whether she forgot and left it on the floor next to my car or she didnt attach it properly and its fallen off while i've driven away, i dont know. But now the plastic back case of the headlight is exposed to the mud being flicked up from my wheels.

Rather annoying, but has anyone got the plastic-door-thing-that-goes-in-the-wheel-well-to-gain-access-to-the-back-of-the-headlight spare? drivers side? clutching at straws..?

Cheers all

 

[ronk]

Go back an twist about it with the manager!
Let them know that you paid to have the lamp fitted and fitted properly. Leaving parts off is not being fitted properly !

Get a price for the parts from the dealer.

 

[synthedup]

Go back an twist about it with the manager!
Let them know that you paid to have the lamp fitted and fitted properly. Leaving parts off is not being fitted properly !

Get a price for the parts from the dealer.

Hi there,

He "apparently" was the store manager, or so he was saying when he was doing the job. All parts seem to be on the car, I assume its a bad seal allowing water in causing condensation can they be blamed for that?

 

[ronk]

Sorry synthedup, I referring to PG 93 post when parts were left off!

But if the unit didn't have condensation in it before they piddled about with it then they have some questions to answer I think.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Go back an twist about it with the manager!
Let them know that you paid to have the lamp fitted and fitted properly. Leaving parts off is not being fitted properly !

Get a price for the parts from the dealer.

Hi there,

He "apparently" was the store manager, or so he was saying when he was doing the job. All parts seem to be on the car, I assume its a bad seal allowing water in causing condensation can they be blamed for that?

You can't blame the Halfords guy for a bad seal. If you could show he trapped a wire in it then perhaps a gripe. Sadly this is what you get for trusting anyone else to do a job. You're lucky - there are stories of people dropping the entire front bumper in an attempt to change a bulb, which as we all know is not required.

 

[ronk]

As you say you can't blame the bloke for a bad seal but if the seal is goosed he should have told you so!
I would think it's more likely that the cap hasn't been tightened on properly or the seal is dislodged from its seating !

 

[thepits]

And the Moral of this sad story is?

Do it yourself , pay a reputable BMW Indie :wink: , don't use Halfrauds fitting "service" :headbang:

 

[ronk]

I hear the do it yourself but the the sad fact of life is I can't any more!

Apart from having a few miles on my clock I had a spinal op a few years ago and this has caused me to be a lot less nimble - it grieves me to see the effect that some simple tasks have on my wallet when only a few years ago I wouldn't have given a garage a second thought.

 

[thepits]

I too have many miles on my clock, so #1 is no longer an option, #3 never has been, so that leaves us with #2

- ka-ching

 

[ronk]

I'm probably goosed because of all those years under cars in my more youthful years.
It causes some funny looks seeing me getting out of the Zed of the car parked in a blue badge bay!

( I've had several friendly well intentioned warnings in Germany in the past when I've parked quite legitamally in a limping bay)

 

[thepits]

I'm probably goosed because of all those years under cars in my more youthful years.

Nah, it's just old age :thumbsdown:

OT - I have a dodgy right knee so I went to the doctor, he said "It's just old age", I replied "My left knee doesn't hurt and that's the same age" He didn't answer